Augustus Caesar and the Pax Romana
Answer the following questions: What does the term “Pax Romana” mean? What historical role did Augustus Caesar play in history?
Give Russian equivalents to the following proper names, study their pronunciation:
Julius Caesar ['dʒu:liəs 'si:zə] Marc Antony [ma:k 'æntəni] Lepidus ['lepidəs] Octavian [ək'tæviən] Augustus Caesar [ɔ:'gʌstəs 'si:zə] Pax Romana ['pæx 'rəuma:nə]
Study the following words and expressions:
claim [kleim], v - требовать, претендовать despite [dis'pait], prep - несмотря на dubious ['dju:biəs], adj - сомнительный extend [iks'tend], v - расширять meddle in [medl], v - вмешиваться в overhaul [əuvə'hɔ:l], v - производить полную проверку proclaim [prə'kleim], v - провозглашать reduce [ri'dju:s], v- уменьшать, сокращать self-sufficient [ˏselfsə'fiʃənt], adj - самодостаточный triumvirate [trai'əmvirit], n - триумвират
armed forces [a:md 'fɔ:siz] вооружённые силы at once [ət 'wʌns] сразу же cash payment [kæʃ 'peimənt] оплата наличными civic affair ['sivik ə'fεə] гражданское дело rise to power [raiz tə pauə] приходить к власти slave-labour [sleiv 'leibə] рабский труд solid supporter ['sɔlid sə'pɔ:tə] надёжный сторонник to do away with [də əwei wið] покончить с to face a problem [feis ə prɒbləm] столкнуться с проблемой to head a faction [hed ə 'fækʃən] возглавлять группу to lay down supreme power [lei daun su:'prim pauə] – устанавливать верховную власть to purge of something [pə:dʒ] избавляться от to spell the death [spel ðə deθ] повлечь за собой смерть to take an oath of allegiance [əuθ əv ə'li:dʒəns] дать присягу на верность
Read the text below using a dictionary if necessary:
On the morning of March 15, 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was assassinated by several members of the Roman Senate. This was just one month after he had declared himself dictator of the Roman world. In the wake of his death, three men moved forward to form a new triumvirate which would punish Caesar's assassins and then divide up the Roman world. The members of this triumvirate consisted of Mark Anthony (consul), Lepidus (high official), and Octavian (the grand nephew of Caesar). Up to the year 37 B.C., there was relative peace in the Roman world. These three men headed a republican faction against Caesar for the simple reason that Caesar had claimed absolute power for himself. But in 37 B.C., stability appeared to disintegrate. In the wake of the decisive battle, the Battle of Actium, Octavian emerged as the sole master of the Roman world and would rule the Roman Empire for 45 years, until his death in A.D.14. Although his rise to power was always suspect, he succeeded in overhauling and reforming almost every Roman institution. He also helped to establish the Roman Empire on a much more rational basis. His reforms carried the Roman Empire for almost 200 years, and this, the most creative period of the Roman Empire, is often called the Age of Augustus. On January 13, 27 B.C., Octavian appeared before the Roman Senate and laid down his supreme powers. It was at this time that Octavian took the name of Augustus Caesar. The Senate had been purged of its dubious members and reduced from about 1000 members to 800. The majority of these men were solid supporters of Augustus (indeed, they were handpicked by Augustus). Augustus proclaimed that he had restored the Republic. The Senate voted to allow Augustus to govern in for ten years which he gladly accepted. Despite all the pomp and circumstance which accompanied this, the plain fact was that he was now left with total control of the armed forces of the Roman State. The Senate took an oath of allegiance to Augustus as emperor. In 23 B.C., Augustus was granted the authority of tribune for life. This enabled him to have ultimate veto power and also to deal directly with the people. The reforms of Augustus as well as his long life contributed to the idea that he was something more than human -- he was certainly a hero, the Romans thought, perhaps even a god. His reforms of the system of Roman government were important. He compromised between inherited traditions and a changed economic, political and social reality. In other words, he effectively mixed both the old and the new, a typically Roman idea. His system of reforms save the Empire, but in the long run spelled the death of representative institutions. Augustus never did away with these institutions, he merely united them under one person -- himself. He was consul, tribune, chief priest of the civic religion and the public censor. He ruled by personal prestige: he was princeps (first citizen among equals) and pater patriae (father of the country). He was the supreme ruler, the king, the emperor and his authority was absolute. He immediately faced four distinct problems: (1) He had to secure the northern frontiers against attack. Civil wars had involved the army and had led to a weakening of the frontiers of the border. (2) The army had grown too large and unmanageable: the army formed a state within a state. (3) The urban population and small farmers had to be helped. (4) His new government had to promote confidence among the senatorial class which was necessary for efficient rule. His reform of the administration of the provinces hit all these problems at once. First, the frontiers were consolidated. His policy was to extend the northern frontier (the Rhine and Danube Rivers) no further and to bolster what remained. Augustus reduced the size of the army and the remainder were stationed in the provinces. He provided a cash payment to those soldiers who had served for more than twenty years, thus securing their loyalty to the Roman state and not to their generals. The army was removed from Rome where they were tempted to a meddle in civic affairs. He also created the Praetorian Guard, an elite corps of 9000 men charged with defending him. Stationed at Rome, the members of the Guard were from Italy only, and received higher pay than soldiers in the Roman legions. The Guard served as the personal bodyguard to Augustus but a few decades after the death of Augustus, they often played a decisive role in the "selection" of new emperors. In the home provinces near Rome, Augustus entrusted the senatorial class. He made the senatorial aristocracy feel as if they still had power. They were, of course, losing it quickly. The reforms of Augustus stabilized the economy and made the Mediterranean basin nearly self-sufficient. But there were flaws which soon became apparent. Economically, the system was based on a network of mutually interdependent areas. If one fell, it could hurt the whole Empire. The system of slave labor was also showing signs of deterioration. Slaves had no desire to work. Furthermore, the number of slaves had been reduced since many slave families had won their freedom by manumission. As a result, manpower was drained off the farms. In general, the Augustan system worked fairly well, in fact, it lasted more than 200 years. It provided a material and political base of cultural achievement that rivaled the Greeks under Pericles. This is the age of the Pax Romana, the Roman Peace. But the Augustan reforms were not limited to political, economic and social issues alone. They also envisioned a fundamental change in Roman culture itself. Augustus tried to turn Rome into a world capital and taught the Romans to identify their destiny with the destiny of all mankind. They were the chosen people who would bring peace and stability to a violent and changing world.
Ex. 1. Answer the following questions:
1. Why did Marc Antony Lepidus and Octavian head a faction against Caesar? 2. What period of Roman Empire is called the Age of Augustus? 3. How did Augustus get the total control of the armed forces and authority of tribune? 4. What kinds of innovation did Augustus introduce? 5. What problems did Augustus face when he rose to power? 6. What was made to cope with all the problems? 7. What were disadvantages of his reforms?
Ex. 2. Match the words with their definitions:
Ex. 3. Complete the table with the appropriate forms of the words given:
Ex. 4. Insert the words and phrases given into the sentences in their correct form. Translate the sentences into Russian:
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